THE LEGEND. Contents. Feature Items

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1 Contents Feature Items... 1 View From the Chair by John Foster... 1 a. What does a distributor look like for a 57 Fuelie? by Kelly Waite... 2 Articles... 2 a. Frank Bloemke Featured on GM Retirees Web Site... 5 b. Member Profile Andy Franke by Mark Kessinger... 6 c. Corvette Plant History... 7 Events... 8 a. Judging Condition of a 1967 Barn Find by Mike Hanley... 8 b. Forest Park Easter Car Show Pictures c. Hannibal Car Show by Mike Hanley d NCRS National San Antonio, Texas by Joan Burnett e. Spring Judging Meet by Mike Hanley f. Heartland Regional Judging Meet by Mike Hanley g. Fall Judging Meet by Mike Hanley h. Meeting Minutes i. St. Louis NCRS 2017 Remaining Calendar j. NCRS Calendar k. Car Clubs, Shows and Cruises, etc Buy, Sell, Trade Buy, Sell, Trade Back In The Day a. New Chapter Shirts Available by John Foster Club Information a Club Officers b. Editors Note by Joe Raine Fine Print Feature Items View From the Chair by John Foster On July 31, 1981, the last Corvette rolled off the assembly line at the St. Louis Corvette plant. How fitting that Mark Markel arranged for Ralph Montileone, a 47-year GM veteran of both the St. Louis and Bowling Green plants to visit our Chapter meeting on August 10 th, nearly 36 years to that closing date, to share stories of Corvette production. Our Chapter meetings have been so much more vibrant this year because of interesting presentations on Corvette production history, technical and restoration tips, and even stories of collecting Corvette documentation and literature. If you haven t been to Chapter dinner meeting lately, you re missing out on learning more about our hobby. If you have a story or Corvette restoration talent to share, or even a demonstration of a really cool product related to our hobby, please let us know and we will pencil you in to share with the rest of the Chapter membership at an upcoming meeting. The St. Louis Chapter was once again awarded Top Flight status at the NCRS National Convention for being an active Chapter. And, our Chapter members have been active this summer. Since our spring judging event they have participated in chapter and regional meets around the country, attended the NCRS National Convention in San Antonio and even planted our NCRS feather at the Mark Twain Corvette Club s annual All Corvette Show on Main Street in Hannibal. The year isn t over yet and there are additional events to be involved in. So, now that the heat of July is behind us, fill up the tank on your Corvette and join us for some more fun and excitement. We have our fall judging meet, a fall road tour, our Nurses for Newborns workday and lunch outing, and of course our monthly dinner meetings at JJ s. Our next Board meeting and general membership dinner meeting are Thursday, September 14 th. I hope to see another great turnout at the meetings. Lastly, I would like to thank the members, chairs and officers who have made this such a great year to date. Page 1 of 34

2 Articles a. What does a distributor look like for a 57 Fuelie? by Kelly Waite Here is a distributor for a 57 Corvette with fuel injection. This one is Delco Remy model number The date code on the tag is 7E14, which means 1957, May 14th. These distributors are unique as they have a separate gear to turn the fuel meter. The model 908 has a "dust cap" on the other end of the fuel meter connector. They also have an oil hook up (see brass fitting). This is to keep the fuel meter gear lubed. Page 2 of 34

3 These distributors are also unique in that the top half rotates to adjust the timing. The bottom half does not rotate as it needs to be stationary to turn the fuel meter. The distributor says Delco Remy inside the cap and the rotor says Delco Remy on the end of the part. This picture shows the fuel meter cable attached to the distributor. Page 3 of 34

4 P.S. These distributors also have two sets of points. Kind of a challenge to get the dwell set correctly. Page 4 of 34

5 a. Frank Bloemke Featured on GM Retirees Web Site Here is the article that was posted on GMretiree.com. Retiree s Corvette Wins Mark of Excellence Award GM retiree Frank Bloemke is a winner when it comes to building, restoring, and preserving cars. Just last month, his 57 Chevrolet Corvette captured the coveted Duntov Mark of Excellence Award from the National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) for its restoration and preservation. And, more than 60 years ago Bloemke s scale model dream car won second place in the national competition of the Fisher Body Craftsman s Guild Model Car Competition eventually launching his career at General Motors. The Guild Model Car Competition was a contest for boys around the country between the ages of 12 and 20, Bloemke said. It started in the early 30s and boys built a 1/12th scale model of a Napoleonic coach, the signature logo of Fisher Body. Around the Second World War, the organizers decided boys weren t interested in building coaches and it changed to a car design competition. The objective of the competition was to build a scale model car of your dreams. Bloemke spent one year building his green and black beauty, first building a clay model, later carving it out of a chunk of white pine and then layering on 25 coats of primer and lacquer. The car won the state and regional awards and ultimately received the second place senior national award in 1953, a scholarship prize of $3,000 and an allexpense paid, week-long trip to Detroit. It took me five tries to win the scholarship. There were forty regional winners, and we all received a free, first-class tour of the city of Detroit and visited all things automotive there, Bloemke said. Bloemke used his scholarship to attend General Motors Institute and earn his engineering degree. He worked his entire 42-year career at St. Louis Assembly Plant and the Wentzville Assembly Plant, starting with Fisher Body and ending with GM Truck. He retired in March His 57 Chevy Corvette was built at that plant, and Bloemke is the original owner. I got it at a discount in 1957 because it was dealer showroom display car that had been on display from February to September, and the 58 Corvettes were already on sale. I kept it because with six children, I realized it was the only Corvette I would own. In 2005, an NCRS member saw it and convinced me to join the National Corvette Restorers Society, which develops and maintains the standards for the original condition of Corvettes, Bloemke said. The Duntov Award is named in honor of Zora Arkus-Duntov, first chief engineer for the Chevrolet Corvette who retired in It recognizes individuals for the restoration and preservation of Corvettes, and competitors must meet original as manufactured standards, rigorous performance tests, and score at least 97% at a national NCRS convention. According to the NCRS website, only about 1,000 Corvettes have achieved the NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence Award, and this year, Bloemke joined those ranks. Page 5 of 34

6 b. Member Profile Andy Franke by Mark Kessinger Andrew (Andy) Franke is a newer St Louis Chapter member and National member # Andy and his wife Lori live in Richmond Heights and own a 1995 Polo Green with saddle interior Corvette Coupe. This is Andy's first Corvette but is on the lookout for his "dream" Corvette- a Saddle Tan 1964 Coupe. Andy's interests include learning the NCRS judging process as well as collecting vintage watches and anything space related. Andy suggests the topic of evaluating for purchase used Corvettes-what to look for and what to avoid, maybe two programs-one covering C-1's and the other C-2's. Page 6 of 34

7 c. Corvette Plant History As many of you may already know, Chapter member Frank Bloemke was an engineer for Chevrolet and worked as a plant engineer in various departments of the old GM factory in St. Louis, including the Corvette plant. At our February dinner meeting Frank was kind enough to take a few moments and share some stories from the plant including a C3 Corvette windshield tooling story about his experience in solving a production problem affecting the fit of windshields. The members who were present at the meeting enjoyed the story and had a number of questions about the plant. We look forward to Frank sharing more of his stories at future dinner meetings. Page 7 of 34

8 Events a. Judging Condition of a 1967 Barn Find by Mike Hanley Well after having to postpone the Judging school three times lady luck was on our side this past Saturday. First, I want to thank Denny Marshall for his gracious hospitality to allow us to look and do some condition judging on his 67 Corvette 435hp barn find. This was a once in a lifetime event to see a car like this. We had very good weather partly sunny and temps in the 50 s. The turnout was great as we had about 40 members and guest show up. I would talk more about the car but I m hoping Denny will do an article for our newsletter which would be of interest to all of the members in the chapter. Page 8 of 34

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11 b. Forest Park Easter Car Show Pictures Page 11 of 34

12 c. Hannibal Car Show by Mike Hanley We had a good turnout from the NCRS St. Louis chapter at the Mark Twain Corvette Club's show in Hannibal on August 5th which had over 160 cars. Members in attendance included (I hope I didn t leave anyone out!): Mike Hanley, John Foster, Greg Simon, Allen and Carol Kleinhenz, Hal and Tille Lutz, John Murphy and Joe Anelle Greg Simon won a $25 gas card, John Foster won the 50/50 drawing ($212), which John gave back $100 to the DAV which is MTCC charity. I took 1st place in class and Best of Show, John took 2nd place in class, John Murphy took 3rd place in class and Greg Simon took 2nd place in his class. All in all we had perfect weather and no one broke a sweat sitting and watching the crowd. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who has not been to it. Page 12 of 34

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14 d NCRS National San Antonio, Texas by Joan Burnett What a great convention. This year s convention started for me on July 6 th in Conway, Arkansas at the home of fellow St. Louis Chapter members Tony & Reda Salter. Tony & Reda graciously hosted a lunch for the Canadian National Road Tour which began with a kick off dinner in Bolton, ON on June 30 th, where their son, Sam and his buddy Alex jumped in a 64 along with me in the 99 to participate in the National Road Tour. The first night out was spent in Texarkana, AR. Many from the group went to a local restaurant and enjoyed each other s company over dinner. On Friday morning, we began our day with a drivers meeting at 7:30 am with a final destination of Waco, Texas. The day took us through some beautiful Texas countryside away from the interstate with many stops along the way. The Road tour participants were divided into 3 groups where I served as one of the group s back door. My group was led by National Road Tour Leaders, Kay & Scott Sinclair in their My group consisted of 2 midyears, a solid axle, a C6 and 2 C5 s. Here was my view from the back of the pack: On Saturday once again our morning started with a driver s meeting at 7:30 am, with the tour leaving at 8 am. We traveled the countryside with a stop at a unique little restaurant for lunch. Page 14 of 34

15 After lunch we traveled to the LBJ Ranch and National Historic Park. Upon arriving at the visitors center, a little bit of car trouble was experienced by Verle & Beth Randolph as their solid axle was not running up to par so in the parking lot, under a shade tree, Verle began removing spark plugs and testing wires to trouble shoot the issue. As others looked on, someone noticed that there appeared to be a loose wire to the coil, so we were now ready to tour the Texas White House as well as tour the ranch itself. The final night out registration and reception for the National Road Tours took place at the Y.O. Ranch in Kerrville. Unfortunately, this is where I left the road Tour after registration to travel on to the Host Hotel in San Antonio to begin setup of the NCRS Foundation Silent Auction and Sales area. At the convention I met up with the following St. Louis Chapter members, Frank Bloemke, Dave Ewan, Tom & Alisa Green, David, Mary & Jennifer Gulley, Mike Hanley, Dennis and Karen Hardesty, Greg Horton, Bill Mulder, Bill Naeger & Jeanene Kreevich, Tony, Reda & Sam Salter and George Williams. Unfortunately, the picture below only includes about half the group. Page 15 of 34

16 Our Chapter brought home many awards this year starting with the National General Membership meeting on Monday evening as evidenced by the pictures below: Chapter 2016 Top Flight Award Page 16 of 34

17 Mike Hanley Level Judging Award In addition, I received my Sportsman Award Ribbon. As the week of judging progressed culminating with the Awards Banquet on Thursday evening, the following members came home with the following awards. Frank Bloemke 1957 Duntov Page 17 of 34

18 Tom & Alisa Green 1967 Duntov Greg Horton 1965 Top Flight Page 18 of 34

19 Bill Mulder 1964 Top Flight No Photo available Tony, Reda & Sam Salter 1984 McClellan Award and Generational Award Page 19 of 34

20 e. Spring Judging Meet by Mike Hanley Well we finally got our judging event in after a number of tries due to rain and finding a location, I want to say a BIG Thank you to Jim Trenary for allowing us to have our event at his O Fallon, MO dealership. I also want to say a BIG Thank you to all of those great Judges, Tabulators and car owners that participated in the event. We had 5 cars signed up of which 3 of them were chapter members which will help use make our Top Flight requirements for the year. Noted below are the car owners and their awards: Bill Mulder from Town & Country, MO. with a Top Flight Michael Berryman from Jackson, MO. with a Top Flight John Berra from St. Louis, MO. with a Top Flight Bobby Hadskey from Germantown, TN. with a Second Flight Dennis Marshall from High Ridge, MO. with a 1974 Top Flight I would like everyone to think about whether we should look at moving our Judging event venue to an indoor location as the last event or two we ve had rain or we just missed it. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this as we ll be discussing this at the next meeting or two. Page 20 of 34

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23 f. Heartland Regional Judging Meet by Mike Hanley I just wanted to pass along some congratulations to some of our club members who achieved some Top Flight honors and Performance Verification awards at the Heartland Regional in Newton, Iowa. Tony Salter 84 Corvette Top Flight Bill Mulder 64 Corvette Top Flight Greg Horton 69 Corvette Top Flight Frank Bloemke 57 Corvette Performance Verification So the next time you see them please congratulate them on their awards. Page 23 of 34

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25 g. Fall Judging Meet by Mike Hanley St. Louis NCRS Chapter Judging Meet and Picnic Saturday, October 14, :30 AM Mary s Shelter, Love County Park 2239 Mason Lane Manchester, MO Directions: Manchester Rd. west from I-270 two blocks past first stop light to Mason Lane. Left on Mason Lane to the park. Follow signs to Mary s Shelter. Schedule of Events: 8:15 A.M. Registration; 8:30 Flight Judging and Picnic Awards presentations following completion of judging. Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Telephone: NCRS Number: Expires: Spouse / Guest: Attendance is FREE but we request you pre-register FREE Flight Judging Entry : Fee $55.00 * $ Sportsman Entry: Chapter Fee $20.00 $ Special Display: Bowtie, Crossed Flags, Duntov, McLellan (Circle One) FREE Make check payable to: NCRS St. Louis Chapter Total: $ Car Info: Year: Coupe/Conv: Engine: CI H.P. Complete VIN: Ext Color: Int: Color: Int Fabric: Standard/Leather: Following Applies To Only: Trim Tag or Service ID Label Info: Paint Code Trim Code: Build Date: Body Number (63-67): Do you want to tabulate, judge or observer judge? Tab: Y / N Judge: Y / N OJ :Y/N ~ Class: Int: Ext: Chassis: Mech: Tab: Judging Level: (If known) Mail to: * Judging applications accepted on a first come Mike Hanley first served basis. Fees are not refunded for 3508 Post Valley Drive cancellations after September 15th. Please enclose O Fallon, Missouri check with application and mail to Chapter Judging Chair Mike Hanley. For questions mhanley@centurytel.net or call (636) I agree to insure my vehicle and property for loss, damage & liability and to provide proof of such insurance to NCRS. I agree to assume the risk of any and all damage or injury and to indemnify and hold harmless NCRS, its officers, directors, agents, employees and chapters for any actions or acts of omission which may result in the theft, damage or destruction of my property or injury to me or others occurring during or as a consequence of this event, wherever located. Signature: Date: Insured by: Policy no.: Expires: Page 25 of 34

26 h. Meeting Minutes Minutes of Chapter Dinner Meeting, February 9, 2017 CORVETTE TALK: Frank Bloemke gave a presentation on his experience as a plant engineer at the Corvette Plant in St. Louis. COMMITTEE REPORTS were very briefly presented on Finance, Events, and Judging. OLD BUSINESS: The holiday Awards dinner was discussed and based on positive feedback the 2018 event will be once again booked at Spazio Westport. NEW BUSINESS: None Minutes of Chapter BOARD Meeting, March 9, 2017 The Board met at 5:00, prior to the general membership dinner meeting. Each committee chair present discussed their areas of responsibility. Joan Burnett advised that the Chapter did not make a 2016 donation to the charities. That was placed on the agenda for the membership meeting. We discussed the holiday party and Joan will contact Spazio s Westport and book Saturday, January 6, Minutes of Chapter Dinner Meeting, March 9, 2017 INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS AND NEW MEMBERS: Guest Jim Larsen New Member Scott Congo CORVETTE TALK: Bill Naeger gave a presentation on the restoration of mid-year steering columns and displayed examples of unrestored and restored columns. COMMITTEE REPORTS: FINANCES JOAN BURNETT. Current checking balance of $7, No outstanding bills. Some recent dues received but not yet deposited. No questions asked. EVENTS DAVE BUESCHER. Easter Concours d Elegance at Forest Park on April 16. The club has paid for 10 spots and there are currently 6 members planning to attend. Upcoming shows include Capital City Corvette Club show in Jefferson City, MO May th and the Route 66 Corvette Club St Peters Corvette Car show for the troops May 20 th. 11-3PM. JUDGING MIKE HANLEY. Due to the weather, the judging seminar at Denny Marshall s house has been rescheduled to March 25. MEMBERSHIP: Greg Simon had no report. John advised that NCRS has created a recruiting flyer and he has requested 100 flyers to be passed out to Corvette enthusiasts at events. OLD BUSINESS: None discussed. Page 26 of 34

27 NEW BUSINESS: The chair advised that we did not make a 2016 donation tour charity, Nurses for Newborns, and the NCRS Foundation. Discussion followed. The 2015 donation was $500 to each. John Foster noted a quorum was present and the motion was made by Dennis Marshall to donate $500 to both Nurses for Newborns and the NCRS Foundation. Kay Augustus seconded the motion. A vote in favor of the motion was unanimous. We will plan on making the normal 2017 donations in the fall of 2017 which amounts will be in addition to the amounts approved at the meeting. There was discussion about adding a second charity. The NCRS has previously refused to provide matching funds for the USO of Missouri. John will reach out to the NCRS for clarification on the Charitable Matching Funds Program criteria for matching Chapter contributions and report back at the next meeting. Page 27 of 34

28 i. St. Louis NCRS 2017 Remaining Calendar Note: Chapter board meetings are at 5:00 pm, dinner meetings start at 6:30 pm. When What Where September 14 St. Louis Chapter Board Meeting JJ's, St Charles St. Louis Chapter Dinner Meeting September Corvette Funfest Mid America Motorworks Effingham, IL September 24 St. Louis Chapter Fall Road Tour TBD October 12 St. Louis Chapter Board Meeting JJ's, St Charles St. Louis Chapter Dinner Meeting October 14 St. Louis Chapter Fall Judging Meet Love Park October Lone Star Regional Frisco, TX November 4 Nurses For Newborns Workday Nurses For Newborns November 9 St. Louis Chapter Dinner Meeting JJ's, St Charles December 14 St. Louis Chapter Board Meeting St. Louis Chapter Dinner Meeting JJ's, St Charles j. NCRS Calendar Click to see the NCRS Upcoming Events for the Next 90 Days (scroll down to see the list). k. Car Clubs, Shows and Cruises, etc. National Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, KY National Council of Corvette Clubs Corvette Racing St. Louis and Southern Illinois car shows and cruises Museum of Transportation car shows Page 28 of 34

29 Local car clubs: Horseless Carriage Club Boone Trail Corvette Club Lookingglass Corvette Club Original Corvette Club of St. Louis St. Louis Corvette Club Page 29 of 34

30 Buy, Sell, Trade 1986 Pace Car Convertible Numbers matching yellow with gray interior and automatic. Top Flight at Regional meet. Decals in the factory box. No accidents or collisions with about 54,500 miles. I have owned this car since inquiries to Mike at mkrebs57@icloud.com Note: We run ads for one quarter. We publish newsletters on the first of March, June, September and December. If you would like your add to run again, please notify me at least one month prior to publication time. Page 30 of 34

31 Buy, Sell, Trade Back In The Day Mark Kessinger provided these newspaper ads from the late 60 s / early 70 s just for grins. Thanks Mark! Page 31 of 34

32 a. New Chapter Shirts Available by John Foster The new official Chapter short sleeved polo shirts are available! The shirts sport the new Chapter logo embroidered in full color on the light blue polyester polo shirt from our friends Tom and Alisa Green, owners of Key Sports in Rolla, MO. Contact Joan Burnett at for your shirt. Joan has a limited number in stock. Shirts are only $30 for all sizes (except 2xl for $32). Currently in inventory are sizes M through 2XL. Page 32 of 34

33 Club Information a Club Officers Chair John Foster Vice-Chair Mark Kessinger Secretary Bill Mulder Treasurer Joan Burnett Judging Chair Mike Hanley Events Chair Dave Buescher Board Member 1 st Year Allen Kleinhenz ackleinhenz@gmail.com Board Member 2 nd Year Denny Marshall dcorvettekid@charter.net Board Member 3 rd Year Kelly Waite kswaite@sbcglobal.net Newsletter Editor Joe Raine j.r.raine@gmail.com Membership Co-Chair Greg Simon gsimon767@sbcglobal.net Membership Co-Chair Jeff Peters jeff295@sbcglobal.net Page 33 of 34

34 b. Editors Note by Joe Raine The newsletter and web page are great ways to keep everyone in the club current on our latest activities. I am likely already working on the next edition of The Legend. Please send in your articles just as soon as you can. The newsletter will be published quarterly as close as possible to the first of March, June, September and December. I need articles that include pictures one month prior to publication time. Our web page ( ) and newsletter are available for posting classified ads for cars and parts you would like to sell, or parts wanted. Member classified ads will automatically run for one quarter, unless I am notified to run it again. Classified Ads: Free for members 50 words or less $10 for non-members Commercial advertising is also available for the newsletter (includes a link on our web page). All commercial ads will be included in four consecutive newsletters. Feel free to drop me a note if you have any suggestions for improving our newsletter or webpage (j.r.raine@gmail.com). Fine Print Membership in the NCRS is open to persons interested in the restoration, preservation, and history of Corvettes produced by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Corporation from 1953 through NCRS is not affiliated with Chevrolet or General Motors. Permission is hereby granted to all NCRS Chapter newsletters to reproduce any original material contained herein; as long as any article is reproduced in its entirety and the author and source are credited. NCRS registered trademarks: NCRS Founders Award, NCRS Master Judge Award, NCRS Performance Verification Award, NCRS Flight Award and NCRS Sportsman Award are registered with the United States Department of Commerce and Trademark Office. Page 34 of 34